Before My Time is about the ancestry and extended family of my four grandparents: John Samuel Krentz (Indiana/North Dakota), Margreta Tjode Hedwig (Gertie) Buss (North Dakota), Rosmer Pettis Kerr (Pennsylvania/Michigan), and Evelyn Elvina Hauer (Michigan). Archives, Labels (tags), and other links appear at the bottom of the page.

Friday, February 19, 2010

As promised, today's post is a key to those photos on my heirloom family tree which were not individually identified in yesterday's post. I've also added a new tag to my Labels list so that, in case I'm unexpectedly flattened by a truck this afternoon, all information about the tree and its contents will be easily retrievable.

The three ornaments above are among the newest additions to the tree. Of the people in these photos, only Darius J. Pettis is my direct-line ancestor. William Efner and Marceline Corneilson were half-siblings of my direct-line ancestors, and Paul was my second cousin, twice removed.

The five ornaments above are all direct-line ancestors with the exception of Mrs. Micajah Pettis. I believe this is Micajah's second wife, Mary Margaret Maxfield. His first wife, Tryphena Sedgwick, died in 1842. These five ornaments and the ones in the following four pictures were given to me by my daughter. Because they're the ones I started with, they're all direct-line ancestors except Mrs. Pettis above and my aunts and uncles which are included in the John Krentz family portrait along with my dad and his parents.

These last three ornaments are two-sided.

The John Krentz family portrait was easily divided down the middle in Paint Shop Pro. My uncles don't actually have their heads cut off! They are very slightly tucked under the frame though and, in the image below, the frame is casting a shadow.

Below is the last of the new frames I bought. I had to hang my dashing Uncle Karl on the tree, and my talented aunt, the poet Bonnie Elizabeth Parker.

Oh, did I say "the last of the new frames?" By that I meant "the last of the new frames which already have pictures in them." Because, in fact, there are five new new frames which I haven't filled yet, and a couple more on the way.

I've been watching several of the Hallmark Family Tree items on ebay, Thomas. Anyone interested needs to know there are different size trees--two, I think--one 15" and the other 22". I have the larger one. I'd suggest browsing a bit and watching what things actually sell for, and making a list of items you want. Then you can add up what it's actually going to cost when all is said and done before you commit any money to the project. It's fairly spendy. There seems to be no shortage of buyers for these items. And on the flip side, it seems there's a steady stream of them showing up for sale.

The two silver items I wrote about yesterday are from a different series, Hallmark Motherhood. They're slightly larger in scale. The 22" tree has room to accomodate them in the arches at the bottom of the branches, but the 15" tree doesn't have that kind of space.

Our Family in Books: A Bibliography

My Ancestors in Books (a library of resources and notes pertaining to Reverend Samuel Stone, Major General Robert Sedgwick, Elder John Crandall, and other early Americans in the forest where my family tree was grown)

History of St. James Lutheran Church [full title: A little of this and a little of that in the 141 year (1861-2002) History of St. James Lutheran Church, Reynolds Indiana] by Harold B. Dodge, published at Reynolds, Indiana, 2002; 170 pages.

Lisbon, North Dakota 1880-2005 Quasuicentennial, published at Lisbon, North Dakota in 2005; 391 pages.